How do you know when to stop collecting and start selling off your coins?

It's not a bad idea to sell a few things from time to time. It helps give you an idea of the process what to expect when the time comes.

 

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I suppose you decided to sell when the fire to collect has gone out of you belly, and you have lost interest.

I have cut back on my U.S. coin purchases, not because I have lost interest but because of CAC and the grading issues. When CAC becomes a grading company, it could get worse. All of the NGC and even some of the PCGS certifications could turn to dust if many collectors believe that CAC is perfect. I love what I have, but I don't want to buy very many more expensive U.S. coins. Spending a bunch on money on certification is time consuming and not fun

I am very active in the British and ancient Roman areas. I am still adding to those collections, and I prefer to buy rare coins when I can. NGC does good job with the Roman coins, but I still prefer raw pieces.

 

If your collection is bringing you joy, I think you should hold on to it.

I do recommend selling off a few coins here and there that were either mistakes at purchase or that you don’t enjoy anymore. This gives you a reality check on pricing and frees up capital for other purchases. Depending on the material, the best outlet may be a local dealer, a show, EBay or an auction house.

 

Consigning to an auction house is the best way to go, provided the average value of each coin is at least $350 or more. If it is much below that, most auction houses consider it more work than it is worth and won't likely give you much better terms than a reputable dealer would. If the coins are worth considerably more, let's say over $1,000 each and you have 25 or more of them to sell, then an auction house is the very best way to go, and as stated by Cal, you will likely be able to negotiate better than hammer prices in the consignment contract.

 

I doubt if I'll ever stop collecting as I have way too many interests. I do have a record of every coin that I've purchased including the price I paid, provenance, date of purchase etc. The reason for keeping detailed records is to assist those folks who end up having to dispose of/disperse the collection. I have also written down the names of individuals who should be contacted to help in the dispersal of my collections.

If my wife survives me she'll keep the proceeds, but I do know that she will add to the endowment of a scholarship that two students created in my name.

I have also put together a small collection of my favorite things to pass onto to a special young lady. Items include my favorite Kachina, a piece of Inuit sculpture, a couple of mineral specimens, a coin or two, a few items from my space collection, a piece of jewelry I've made, and a couple of other small items. Everything fits in a small wooden box. Included with the items is a writeup about each piece and stories about me and her parents along with some photos.

 

Whenever the time feels right to you is when you should do it.
I don’t think you need to spend a lot of time analyzing and over analyzing too many factors to make your decision. Just go with your gut and when the time feels right just go for because that is the right time.

A suggestion on how you might consider selling off some of your coins - buy a table at a local show and set up as if you were a dealer. It might be fun to watch people look over your collection and at the same time sell some as well.

I’ve thought about doing that several times but I’m not at the point yet where I want to sell off much of my collection. Yes it does cost money to set up at a show but I look at that as the cost of entertainment.

 

i have this theory that ive been contemplating this year. when im dead and gone will it matter what happened to my stuff? no, it wont, because im dead and gone. so i better keep collecting and enjoying while i can.

 

Well... on the one hand, if your nicer coins get cashed in and start circulating, it means they're going to pick up additional wear, which is bad from a "preserving history" perspective. Worse yet, they could get melted.

On the other hand, if they get cashed in and start circulating, it's great news for us change-searchers and coin-roll-hunters and CoinStar-reject-slot-checkers...

 

i hope my coins dont circulate, that would be weird. if anything, my son would be smart to have them all put into an auction

 

I guess I'm lucky! I have a son, nephew and great-great nephew who like coins. I'm already gifting some of mine to them but not many. Most are there for my wife if she needs to liquidate them after I'm gone.

 

If you sell, just sell slowly over an extended time period and make each transaction comparatively 'small'. Then just use the money from those sales to fund your daily life transactions.

Don't over think it. I plan to sell and/or distribute my collection(s) when I'm in retirement until the end. It will actually ebb and flow as I sell and reacquire during this freewheeling time in my life.

 

Depending on what type of coins they are, consider donating them to a local museum or coin club. If they are historically unique enough the museum can use them for research and display. If not then local coin clubs can use them as give-away prizes or for youth programs. I have instructions in my will that my collection is to remain intact. If my family wants to keep it and add to it then it's theirs. If not it's going to my local museum to do as they wish.

 

I think that is a fine solution if your collection is not very valuable, and your heirs are independently wealthy.

 

You can always donate your collection or part of it to a worthy cause that has meaning to you or to an organization that helps younger people.

 

I am not a big fan of museum donation. Museums can be the best and the worst. If they display their items with informative write-ups to support them, they are great. If they lock them in vault, where no one can see them, they are the worst. Add to that some very poorly informed museum people who might clean their coins, and you have another reason not to donate. I have seen coins that were wrecked by cleaning in museums.

That even goes for the nation's coin collection, and perhaps the largest in the world, the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian shows very little of what they have. It also seems that you need to be a 12 year old intern to see it. If you are a collector, who has studied hard for 50 years, your chances of seeing anything are low.

Given the fact that the Smithsonian gets public money, you would think that photos of their coins would be available. When I assemble an exhibit, I have used Smithsonian photos from time to time. I was able to download an use photos of the unique 1849 double eagle. Other photos were blocked. That should not be.

Sorry for the rant, but I am not "all in" for museums. If you have nice, but not the greatest coins, I think it's better to put them up for auction and let another generation of collectors enjoy them.

End of rant.

 

My plan was to start selling at 75. I’m 74 now so I’ll start now. Maybe 20% of my hoard a year. I’ll sell most of my errors, varieties, and things I paid nearly nothing for. Pay the tax and party on.
If I have any capital losses in the next few years I’ll dump at least that much that year before January.

 

And that’s why I didn’t mention donating to museums.

 

I have a special connection to the museum that I will be donating to, in that I designed most of their buildings. It is true that most museums hate coins as they are difficult to display and are an insurance nightmare. But they do allow people to use their facilities for research and inspire a whole new generation of collectors. They inspired me to start collecting many years ago. That is why I donate my time helping them attribute their collection.

 

Another thing museums do is sell coins. You donate, and it can go right out the back door to a dealer or auction. And most of the time, they will not promise to display or retain donated coins. Even a really rare coin may be sold or traded if there is an object the curators want more and need cash to get it. If you look at auction catalogs, you’ll find collections from museums, especially from university museums, offered at auction.

The Smithsonian has many more coins on display than what is found in the gallery room with the vault door. There are displays of US coins scattered throughout the American History Museum … at least, that was the case last time I was there. They are digitizing the collection of all objects in all museums. However, coins are only about 1% of the total objects and not necessarily top priority.

Cal